FPS staff report
November 18, 2008
It’s official.
Edison School District’s Superintendent has been hired as Superintendent of the Massillon city schools.
Lisa Carmichael, who has been Superintendent of Edison Local School District since August 2004, was hired by the Massillon Board of Education at a meeting last Thursday evening to guide the school district.
Carmichael’s five-year contract extends from Dec. 1, 2008, through July 31, 2013, at an annual salary of $105,000. She succeeds Fred Blosser who has retired.
In accepting the position, Mrs. Carmichael said she is “looking forward to the opportunity that Massillon has extended to me”. Mrs. Carmichael, who is to begin her new job Dec. 1, reportedly was among 19 applicants for the position. She is the first woman in the history of the Massillon school district to become its superintendent.
The Edison Local Board of Education is expected to accept Mrs. Carmichael’s resignation at their regular meeting this Thursday. The meeting will be held at Pleasant Hill elementary school beginning at 7 p.m.
However, the Board will convene in executive session at 6 p.m., prior to the regular meeting, to discuss and consider the future appointment and/or employment of an interim Superintendent.
In accepting the new position, Mrs. Carmichael said she truly believes that every student deserves a learning environment that’s academically challenging, personally satisfying and exciting and spirited on a daily basis.
Carmichael also said she believes progress is achieved by looking, acting and forging ahead, and she’s committed to working hard to move the Massillon City schools forward in some way every day.
“I’m in awe of the pride, spirit and character I have witnessed throughout the Massillon community,” she commented. By expanding on these areas, she’s confident that great things will continue to happen in the Massillon schools.
“The more connected the community and the schools, the better things will be for Massillon students,” Carmichael added.
A 1987 graduate of Wintersville High School, Mrs. Carmichael earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and learning disabilities and behavior disorders at Franciscan University in Steubenville. She also earned a master’s degree in education with emphasis on building leadership from the University of Dayton in 1992.
Carmichael’s experience includes eight years of teaching special education and 13 years in education administration. Her administrative experiences include program coordinator and director of education services at the Jefferson County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.
She was an assistant principal at two middle schools for a year at Edison Local Schools. As assistant superintendent in that district, her responsibilities included director of special education and coordinator of state and federal programs. She has served as superintendent of the Edison Local Schools for the past five years.
Carmichael also worked as an adjunct professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville where she taught under graduate evening classes in special education.
She and her husband, Bob, a self-employed owner of an auto body and sales business, reside in Richmond and plan to move to the Massillon area. |
